Gluing and Wormholes for the Einstein Constraint Equations

 We establish a general gluing theorem for constant mean curvature solutions of the vacuum Einstein constraint equations. This allows one to take connected sums of solutions or to glue a handle (wormhole) onto any given solution. Away from this handle region, the initial data sets we produce can be made as close as desired to the original initial data sets. These constructions can be made either when the initial manifold is compact or asymptotically Euclidean or asymptotically hyperbolic, with suitable corresponding conditions on the extrinsic curvature. In the compact setting a mild nondegeneracy condition is required. In the final section of the paper, we list a number ways this construction may be used to produce new types of vacuum spacetimes. Received: 4 October 2001 / Accepted: 26 July 2002 Published online: 29 October 2002 RID="*" ID="*" Supported by the NSF under Grant PHY-0099373 RID="**" ID="**" Supported by the NSF under Grant DMS-9971975 and at MSRI by NSF grant DMS-9701755 RID="***" ID="***" Supported by the NSF under Grant DMS-9704515     

Ricci flow on surfaces with cusps

We consider the normalized Ricci flow ? _t g = (ρ ? R)g with initial condition a complete metric g ₀ on an open surface M where M is conformal to a punctured compact Riemann surface and g ₀ has ends which are asymptotic to hyperbolic cusps. We prove that when χ(M) < 0 and ρ < 0, the flow g(t) converges exponentially to the unique complete metric of constant Gauss curvature ρ/2 in the conformal class.     

The moduli space of complete embedded constant mean curvature surfaces

We examine the space of finite topology surfaces in ³ which are complete, properly embedded and have nonzero constant mean curvature. These surfaces are noncompact provided we exclude the case of the round sphere. We prove that the spaceM _k of all such surfaces withk ends (where surfaces are identified if they differ by an isometry of ³) is locally a real analytic variety. When the linearization of the quasilinear elliptic equation specifying mean curvature equal to one has noL ²-nullspace, we prove thatM _k is locally the quotient of a real analytic manifold of dimension 3k–6 by a finite group (i.e. a real analytic orbifold), fork 3. This finite group is the isotropy subgroup of the surface in the group of Euclidean motions. It is of interest to note that the dimension ofM _k is independent of the genus of the underlying punctured Riemann surface to which is conformally equivalent. These results also apply to hypersurfaces of H ⁿ⁺¹ with nonzero constant mean curvature greater than that of a horosphere and whose ends are cylindrically bounded.Research of the first author supported in part by NSF grant # DMS9404278 and an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, of the second auther by NSF Young Investigator Award, a Sloan Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship and NSF grant # DMS9303236, and of the third author by NSF grant # DMS9022140 and an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship.     

Blocks of monodromy groups in complex dynamics

Motivated by a problem in complex dynamics, we examine the block structure of the natural action of iterated monodromy groups on the tree of preimages of a generic point. We show that in many cases, including when the polynomial has prime power degree, there are no large blocks other than those arising naturally from the tree structure. However, using a method of construction based on real graphs of polynomials, we exhibit a non-trivial example of a degree 6 polynomial failing to have this property. This example settles a problem raised in a recent paper of the second author regarding constant weighted sums of polynomials in the complex plane. We also show that degree 6 is exceptional in another regard, as it is the lowest degree for which the monodromy group of a polynomial is not determined by the combinatorics of the post-critical set. These results give new applications of iterated monodromy groups to complex dynamics.     

The mechanical response of core-shell structures for nanoporous metallic materials

Nanoporous gold (NP-Au) exhibits microscale plasticity, but macroscopically fails in a relatively brittle manner. This current study suggests that a core-shell structure can increase both ductility and strength of NP-Au. A core Au foam structure was created using conventional dealloying methods with average ligament size of 60?nm. Nickel was then electroplated on to the NP-Au with layer thicknesses ranging from 2.5?nm to 25?nm. Nanoindentation demonstrated a significant increase in the hardness of the coated Np-Au, to about five times of that of the pure Np-Au, and a decrease in creep by increasing the thickness of the coated Ni layer. Molecular dynamics simulations of Au–Ni ligaments show the same trend of strengthening behavior with increasing Ni thickness suggesting that the strengthening mechanisms of the Np-Au are comparable to those for fcc nano ligaments. The simulations demonstrate two different strengthening mechanisms with the increased activity of the twins in plated Au–Ni ligaments, which leads to more ductile behavior, as opposing to the monolithic Au ligaments where nucleation of dislocations govern the plasticity during loading.     

The density of prime divisors in the arithmetic dynamics of quadratic polynomials

Let f [x], and consider the recurrence given by a_n = f(a_{n –1}), with a₀ . Denote by P(f, a₀) the set of prime divisorsof this recurrence, that is, the set of primes dividing at leastone non-zero term, and denote the natural density of this setby D(P(f, a₀)). The problem of determining D(P(f, a₀)) whenf is linear has attracted significant study, although it remainsunresolved in full generality. In this paper, we consider thecase of f quadratic, where previously D(P(f, a₀)) was knownonly in a few cases. We show that D(P(f, a₀)) = 0 regardlessof a₀ for four infinite families of f, including f = x² + k,k \{–1}. The proof relies on tools from group theoryand probability theory to formulate a sufficient condition forD(P(f, a₀)) = 0 in terms of arithmetic properties of the forwardorbit of the critical point of f. This provides an analogy toresults in real and complex dynamics, where analytic propertiesof the forward orbit of the critical point have been shown todetermine many global dynamical properties of a quadratic polynomial.The article also includes apparently new work on the irreducibilityof iterates of quadratic polynomials.